


Teach Not Thy Lips Such Scorn

by Ambrose



Category: Romeo And Juliet - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-16
Updated: 2015-05-16
Packaged: 2018-03-30 19:33:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3949003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ambrose/pseuds/Ambrose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tybalt finds himself house- and baby-sitting for his cousin. With Mercutio. What could possibly go wrong?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Teach Not Thy Lips Such Scorn

**Author's Note:**

> title from Richard III - what do you mean I shouldn't quote the Bard out of context?

Oh, he was so sleeping on the couch.

It was his fault, for offering his help in the first place. But, well, Juliet and her husband needed that holiday, really, and Mercutio, for all the treats he gave them, would never be able to deal with the two kids at once, that was just insane! Not to mention he was just as immature – but Tybalt had promised Juliet not to bicker, so there was no saying that aloud. And, well, since Mercutio had suggested it first, _obviously_ they had to do it together. Which... hadn't gone too bad so far, all things considered: both kids were still alive and well, and he and Mercutio had barely argued.

But tonight... Well, tonight, there was no calming Anna down, and they'd spent what felt like hours trying to make her sleep. And between the cradling and the singing... (who knew Mercutio had such a nice voice?) they'd found themselves absolutely exhausted, looking at the baby who'd finally stopped crying and had fallen asleep sucking her thumb, the cute little thing! And as they were both smiling over their niece, Tybalt realised they were really, _really_ close. His first reflex was to back away, but then Mercutio looked at him, and their eyes locked, and on an impulse Tybalt closed the distance between them to kiss him. 

There was no denying he'd wanted it, for quite some time, no matter how much he told himself he  _hated his guts, goddamn it, what's wrong with you, Tybalt?_ He just couldn't ignore it anymore, having been so close, even just for a few days, doing everything together, seeing how, maybe, just maybe, it might work... 

It took Mercutio a few seconds to react – but just as Tybalt was pulling away, sure he'd done something wrong, Mercutio kissed him back, turning Tybalt's almost shy kiss into something much less tame... and then Tybalt realised it was Mercutio he was kissing, Mercutio who'd always been mocking him, and he certainly must be doing so right now, and when he'd pull away he'd see that mischievous smile that screamed  _gotcha!_ How could he handle this, how could he live it down... He froze, wanting to retreat, to look at anything but Mercutio. He thought he caught a glimpse of – was that  _hurt_ ? No, it must have been the darkness playing tricks on him, or Mercutio himself, there was no way... Tybalt shook his head. How stupid was he? He wanted to run away – remembered at the last second his niece asleep, oblivious to all this, and he just managed not to slam the door shut behind him.

Oh, he was  _so_ sleeping on the couch. And why wasn't he in the first place? Another one of Mercutio's great inventions to annoy him, because Juliet's small house only had beds enough for them and the kids and “you Capulets are so fucking full of pride! Come on, Tybalt! You don't have to take the couch, we're both adults here, what's the problem,” wink wink nudge nudge, and no, Tybalt would rather play into it than admit defeat. Which so far had lead to him carefully trying to stay on his side of the bed while Mercutio, so quick to fall asleep, ended up either hogging all the covers or spread over the bed. And Tybalt, though he would never admit to it, guiltily enjoyed the rare times Mercutio ended up curled up around him in a hug, although he'd spring away when he'd wake up and they'd both pretend like nothing happened in the morning. 

But now he'd kissed Mercutio, and even if he knew the bastard was just mocking him, he couldn't help berating himself for even thinking that was a good idea, what even happened to his brain? And there was no way he'd share a bed with him now, no way he'd listen to him chatting in the dark – the guy could just never stop could he – until he fell asleep, not when he knew all his words would be dripping in mockery and all his piques aimed at him, and he knew how pathetic he was, he didn't need a reminder, thank you very much, he wouldn't make this harder on himself.

It helped that they had yet to read little Ariel his bedtime story. Tybalt stayed until after he fell asleep, and when he left, all the lights were out, and the house was silent. Mercutio must be sleeping, or maybe just waiting for him so he could mock him. Tybalt wouldn't know.

It took longer, much longer than expected for him to fall asleep. Ignoring his feelings wasn't so easy when Mercutio was concerned, for some reason – and he couldn't help remember that kiss, the taste of Mercutio's lips and... damn,  _how could he?_

And also, he'd totally need to buy his cousin a new couch. He may dislike Romeo quite a lot, but no-one deserved to spend a night on that thing. He'd never slept on something so uncomfortable. Not that Romeo would ever need to, they were the perfect couple, these two. And was he being jealous now? Of course, he envied them, sometimes, but... no, he refused to think in terms of  _couple_ , that was way off...

He could not say how long it took him to fall asleep, but he woke up to the light clatter of a plate on the coffee table next to him.

“What the...”

He rubbed his eyes, trying to see what was going on. The events of the night before came back to him when he noticed Mercutio sitting in the armchair in front of him. He wouldn't let it go, would he? No, of course not. That'd be too easy.

Then he took in what had actually been placed in front of him: a stack of pancakes that smelt heavenly – could Mercutio actually cook and had pretended all week not to so Tybalt would do it instead? – with something like maple syrup, a glass of orange juice... and tucked between the plate and the glass, a carefully folded paper.

He looked over at Mercutio, noticing he'd got his knees up to his chin and was hiding behind them, only his eyes peeking over. What was up with him? Tybalt sighed, wrapped himself in the plaid he'd used as cover, and sat down. With another look at Mercutio, he took the paper and unfolded it. It read: “ _ I’m sorry that I got way too into playing house and accidentally kissed you passionately _ ,” in carefully written letters. 

“Is this a joke?” he snapped.

Mercutio's shoulders slouched, and he hid his face completely behind his knees. Wait, was he...

“You didn't... I...”

“Right,” the answer came, sharp as a knife. Mercutio looked at him, and there was none of that vulnerability he'd thought he'd seen a few seconds ago. Had it even been there?

“Of course it is a joke,” Mercutio went on, with a bitter tone Tybalt couldn't remember hear him use before. “You know I _love_ apologizing for no reason. It couldn't be that Mercutio is trying to be serious for once, right? He's just a silly fool.”

Mercutio's voice broke, and he sprung up, ready to leave.

“Wait!” Tybalt called him back, getting up just as quick. Mercutio moved aside when he tried to catch his arm.

“What's it gonna be, hm?” His voice was low and angry, and that somehow made it worse than if he were yelling. “ _I didn't mean it?_ Or maybe _I got carried away, don't think for a second I don't hate you anymore?_ Or you thought you would just have some fun at my expense, see how I would react? I know no Tybalt Capulet would ever stoop so low as to even consider...” 

His voice broke once again, and Tybalt reached out for him, not quite sure what he should do, but conscious this was no longer a game anymore – maybe it never had been – and if he managed to get to him maybe he could fix it, maybe...

… except Anna chose that very moment to start crying. He froze with his arm mid-air as they both looked towards the stairs. When he made to go, Mercutio shook his head. “I'm going. Eat your pancakes, princess.”

It took Tybalt a few moments to regain use of his feet. He flopped back on the couch, and tried to eat... they were delicious, but he'd lost all appetite.

Mercutio came back soon after, the little girl held close to his heart, and took back his seat in front of him. He was smiling at her, talking gibberish, and Tybalt's heart swelled... And yet there was also sadness in his eyes, and it seemed there was nothing Tybalt could do about that. 

Maybe he should compliment his cooking, or... say something, yes, he definitely had to say something. Not let this drop, not let the wound fester again, when they'd so managed with time to mend their relationship to, if not friendship, at least some kind of understanding. He didn't want to fight Mercutio again, much less now that he knew...  _ knew what, exactly?  _ And what  _ could _ he say?

Instead, when he'd eaten half his pancakes – there was truly a mountain of it – he slid the plate across the table towards Mercutio. He looked up from Anna who was babbling and pinching his cheeks, and his eyes turned cold in a second.

“You don't like them.” It wasn't even a question.

“You kidding? They're delicious, I... There's just too much of them, and...” damn, could he even finish a sentence? “well, clearly, if you think I could not like them, you haven't tasted them. And you definitely should.”

Mercutio seemed puzzled, to say the least. Not quite sure what to make of it – and Tybalt would have told him just how serious he was – how much more he meant to say – except Mercutio would never believe him, and there was something in his throat that kept him from saying more.

Mercutio considered this for a few more seconds, then: “hm. Right. D'you mind... taking Anna? Please?”

“Oh. Oh, right. Sorry.”

He went around the coffee table to take her, and when Mercutio stood up to give her to him, they were so close again, so very close...

“Mercutio...” he whispered.

“Don't. Please?”

He could hear that plea in his voice, see it in his eyes. He wished to say something, but could not. Anna started laughing, for some reason, which made them both look at her and smile, in spite of everything. But then, when he looked back at Mercutio, it gave him such a feeling of déjà vu... he took a step back as soon as he had her in his arms, and went back to his seat.

He played with Anna, absent-mindedly, trying to work up the courage to say something, and unable to fully focus on her, his mind always going back to Mercutio, until he gave up trying not to look at him.

Mercutio was toying with the pancakes, looking miserable and not actually eating anything, and it was just too painful to watch him like that. There was none of the fake hurt looks he sometimes put on when Tybalt threw a pique at him, not even the pretend indifference he would affect when something hit too close to home.

“I'm sorry,” Tybalt blurted out. “I never meant to hurt you.”

“Because you think you c–”

Tybalt stopped him before he could finish his sentence. “Let me speak. Please?”

Mercutio nodded.

“I don't know why I kissed you, alright? I wanted to. It just felt right. But I wouldn't believe you could... feel the same so... So I thought you were mocking me when you kissed me back.”

“I'd never...” Mercutio let his words die. “Fair point. Sorry.”

“I just don't get why you apologized.” He smiled: “though I don't regret the pancakes.”

“I thought...” Mercutio sighed. “alright, I really thought this was some kind of twisted game for you, or... I don't know, I just couldn't believe it. But still, I guess I still hoped I'm the one who scared you by... by going too fast. And I wasn't wrong...”

Tybalt wasn't sure what he should do next, kiss the rest of Mercutio's worries away, or hug the hell out of him, or... well, for the moment, he was smiling stupidly, when Ariel ran down the stairs in his PJs to hug them and, with stars in his eyes, asked if there were any more pancakes because it smelled so good.

“What's so funny?” he whined when they burst out laughing.

He sat next to Tybalt, and Mercutio slid the plate with what remained of the pancakes toward him. Tybalt couldn't help but look fondly at him.

“Nothing,” he smiled. “You're just as bouncy as your uncle, do you know that?”

“How dare you!” Mercutio laughed, throwing a cushion at him, only carefully missing so as not to hit Anna, who was still on Tybalt's knee and observing everything with bewilderment.

When Tybalt threw it back at him, Mercutio caught it and hugged it quite fondly, and Tybalt's heart must have skipped a bit.

“ _Zio_? Why are you smiling like that? You're being weird!”

He laughed it off, but there was no denying he felt more cheerful than he had been in a long while. Hopeful, even.

 

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr prompt thingy asked by cosimawonscience: "I’m sorry that I got way too into playing house and accidentally kissed you passionately."


End file.
